The moment of a lifetime

Iguazu

8 years. 4 months. 22 days. That’s how long it took for Sami to get down on one knee.

His hands were sweating, his heart was pounding, and his left middle toe (on which he had secretly worn the engagement ring for 7 hours) was just starting to regain its original shape.

The day had been perfect. The mighty waterfalls of Iguazu had made our jaws drop ever since breakfast, a natural wonder so incredible that our trigger fingers had made small dents in the top of our cameras.

In the dense jungle around the border between Argentina and Brazil, we’d seen birds, animals, and, of course, the thundering water falls. We’d seen them from multiple angles, each one more impressive than the last. We’d hiked to the top, gotten soaked during an exhilarating boat ride and dried off on a small rocky beach.

Then the ultimate moment arrived. As the Iguazu National Park neared its closing time, and the rangers gently started prompting visitors towards the exit, Sami took the opportunity to ask what he’d intended to ask Meredith for a very long time.

Toucans sat in the trees, a troop of yellow butterflies fluttered by and the sun made a perfect red-orange backdrop in the sky. If there was ever a good time to ask anyone to marry them, this, without a doubt, was it.

Sami took Mere’s hand and subtly cornered her against the railing by a perfect panorama of the falls. He looked her straight in the eye and only slightly fumbled his words. First, he explained how much he loved her. Then, it went something like this:

Sami: You know, Meredith, before I knew you, you didn’t mean anything to me. Then I met you, and you meant something special to me. And now that I really know you, you mean everything to me.

Mere: (slightly suspicious) Yeah…

Sami: For the last 15 years you’ve been my friend. For the last 8 and a half years you’ve been my girlfriend. And my best friend.

Mere: (blushing, eyes tearing up) …Sami …what are you doing?

Sami: (blushing, eyes tearing up, slowly getting down on one knee)
But I don’t want that anymore…

Mere: (slightly shaking) Sami…

Sami: (crying) For the rest of your life, will you, please, be my wife…?

Mere: (crying) …Yes!

And there we stood, freshly engaged, our eyes watering nearly as much as the falls behind us.

Cue the violins. Slow camera pan out. Frosted edges. And tight embrace - long enough for a troop of Israeli backpackers to squeeze pass and, in turn, congratulate us.

Then, after another few minutes of hugging, gazing in to each other’s betrothed eyes and intermittently laughing and crying in disbelief, a ranger appeared and politely asked us to leave. Rather grateful for this external intervention, we quickly took the public bus back to our hostel.

We took a cab to the fanciest restaurant in Iguazu, where three local keyboard players serenaded us for the best part of two hours, with an array of Sinatra covers.

Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was a sign of what’s to come. Or perhaps it was just the many circumstances of May 14th 2008. Whatever it was, it was everything we wanted.

Best wishes to you all, from two very happy fiancés.


Perfect